Career and Education Opportunities for Pharmacist Technicians in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee

If you want to be a pharmacist technician, the Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee area offers many opportunities both for education and employment. About 7,970 people are currently employed as pharmacist technicians in Tennessee. By 2016, this is expected to grow by 57% to about 12,540 people employed. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for pharmacist technicians are expected to grow by about 30.6%. In general, pharmacist technicians prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist.

A person working as a pharmacist technician can expect to earn about $13 hourly or $27,290 yearly on average in Tennessee and about $13 hourly or $27,710 yearly on average in the U.S. as a whole. Incomes for pharmacist technicians are not quite as good as in the overall category of Pharmacy in Tennessee, and not quite as good as the overall Pharmacy category nationally. People working as pharmacist technicians can fill a number of jobs, such as: certified pharmacy technician , pharmacy technician, and drug coordinator.

The Nashville-Davidson area is home to fifty schools of higher education, including seven within twenty-five miles of Nashville-Davidson where you can get a degree as a pharmacist technician. The most common level of education for pharmacist technicians is a post-secondary certificate. You can expect to spend a short time training to become a pharmacist technician if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Pharmacist Technician

Pharmacist Technician video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, pharmacist technicians prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. They also may measure, mix, and record amounts and dosages of medications.

Pharmacist technicians answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. They also receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages. Equally important, pharmacist technicians have to maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs. They are often called upon to assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items or referring them to the pharmacist for medication data. They are expected to prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels. Finally, pharmacist technicians order and count stock of medications and supplies, and enter inventory data into computer.

Every day, pharmacist technicians are expected to be able to see details at a very fine level of focus. It is also important that they listen to and understand others in meetings.

It is important for pharmacist technicians to price and file prescriptions that have been filled. They are often called upon to receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that data is complete and accurate. They also operate cash registers to take payment from customers. They are sometimes expected to clean, and help maintain, apparatus and work areas, and sterilize glassware in line with prescribed methods. Somewhat less frequently, pharmacist technicians are also expected to assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items or referring them to the pharmacist for medication data.

Pharmacist technicians sometimes are asked to deliver medications and pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations or surgery. They also have to be able to price stock and mark items for sale and restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to ready IV packs for various uses such as chemotherapy medication. And finally, they sometimes have to receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.

Like many other jobs, pharmacist technicians must be thorough and dependable and have exceptional integrity.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Nashville-Davidson include:

Pharmacist. Compound and dispense medications following prescriptions issued by physicians, dentists, or other authorized medical practitioners.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Pharmacist Technician Training

Draughons Junior College Inc - Nashville, TN

Draughons Junior College Inc, 340 Plus Park Blvd, Nashville, TN 37217. Draughons Junior College Inc is a small college located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 450 students. Draughons Junior College Inc has a one to two year and an associate's degree program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated zero and two students respectively in 2008.

National College of Business and Technology-Nashville - Nashville, TN

National College of Business and Technology-Nashville, 3748 Nolensville Pk, Nashville, TN 37211. National College of Business and Technology-Nashville is a small college located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 1,353 students. National College of Business and Technology-Nashville has a one to two year and an associate's degree program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated fourteen and zero students respectively in 2008.

Tennessee Technology Center at Murfreesboro - Murfreesboro, TN

Tennessee Technology Center at Murfreesboro, 1303 Old Fort Pky, Murfreesboro, TN 37129-3311. Tennessee Technology Center at Murfreesboro is a small school located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 284 students. Tennessee Technology Center at Murfreesboro has a one to two year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated nine students in 2008.

Draughons Junior College - Clarksville, TN

Draughons Junior College, 1860 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040-6718. Draughons Junior College is a small college located in Clarksville, Tennessee. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 539 students. Draughons Junior College has an associate's degree program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated three students in 2008.

MedVance Institute-Nashville - Nashville, TN

MedVance Institute-Nashville, 2400 Parman Pl Ste 3, Nashville, TN 37203. MedVance Institute-Nashville is a small school located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 377 students. MedVance Institute-Nashville has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated sixteen students in 2008.

Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville - Nashville, TN

Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville, 100 White Bridge Rd, Nashville, TN 37209-4515. Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville is a small school located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 713 students. Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville has a one to two year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated fourteen students in 2008.

Draughons Junior College-Murfreesboro - Murfreesboro, TN

Draughons Junior College-Murfreesboro, 415 Golden Bear Court, Murfreesboro, TN 37128. Draughons Junior College-Murfreesboro is a small college located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 570 students. Draughons Junior College-Murfreesboro has less than one year, one to two year, and associate's degree programs in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated zero, zero, and nine students respectively in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Pharmacy Technician:
The goal of PTCB's certification program is to enable pharmacy technicians to work more effectively with pharmacists to offer greater patient care and service.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee

Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee photo by Kaldari

Nashville-Davidson is located in Williamson County, Tennessee. It has a population of over 596,462, which has grown by 9.3% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Nashville-Davidson, 86, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Nashville-Davidson are priced at $196,100 on average, which is well above the state average. In 2008, 1,483 new homes were constructed in Nashville-Davidson, down from 3,070 the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Nashville-Davidson are health care, educational services, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is construction, health care, and professional, scientific, and technical services. The average travel time to work is about 23 minutes. More than 29.7% of Nashville-Davidson residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 10.0%, is higher than the state average.

The percentage of Nashville-Davidson residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 55.2%, is more than both the national and state average. The most common religious groups are the Southern Baptist Convention, the Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church.